


The Museum of Forgotten Truths

by mythtakenforastory



Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: Gen, Museums, POV Second Person, Worldbuilding, but i'm an anthropologist at heart so..., i know some amazing science-y wizards, ish, self-indulgent ficlet, universe exploration, wizard careers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-21
Updated: 2014-08-21
Packaged: 2018-02-14 04:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2178096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythtakenforastory/pseuds/mythtakenforastory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I will preserve the knowledge and disparate truths of this world as best I am able, for the right and benefit of future generations, to slow and prevent the increase of ignorance, and its ancestor entropy…"</p><p>..</p><p>A wizard soon to be on Errantry steps out of a worldgate into a fascinating place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Museum of Forgotten Truths

You step out of the worldgate into what looks like a grand entryway or lobby, craning your neck as you try and see all of the vaulted ceilings at once. This first footfall seems to bring you across some sort of proximity line, and a short tune from what sounds a little like a harpsichord echoes around the constellation-speckled blue stone that makes up the room. 

 _Huh_ , you think.  _A_ _doorbell_.

Your perusal of the ceiling ( _are those lines sentences of Speech?_ ) is cut short by the sound of footsteps quickly approaching. You turn towards the sound as a short brunette in a graphic tee shirt hurries through the door. 

“ _Dai stiho_ , cousin. Welcome to the Museum,” she says smiling, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “I’m Phil, Junior Assistant Under-Curator. I’m glad you found your way here.” 

“ _Dai._  Museum?” you ask. “And, wait- Phil?” She looks plain Earth-type human, and your first partner was a  _male_  human named Phil. You’re pretty sure that’s odd.

"Theophilia, properly, but that’s a bit of a mouthful. And this is the Museum of Forgotten Truths," she explains. "I’m guessing you’re on errantry? That’s why most people show up after official visiting hours: because they’re on errantry or will be soon."

Your manual hasn’t changed your status, but you’re intrigued by the concept behind the museum anyway. 

"Miss Phil, could you tell me more about the museum? It sounds fascinating."

"Sure!" She dimples in a grin. "Walk with me, cousin, the current exhibit is a must-see." 

She takes you through the door she entered from as she explains. “The Museum’s been around for eons. The idea behind it is fairly straightforward: we collect truths from around the universe, and when the truths have been forgotten, we create an exhibit around them and tell them to people again. There’s a division of field agents who gather stories, histories, anthropological data and the like while the archivists catalogue all of it, but it’s the curators who have to arrange it to educate.”

By now, you have arrived in the exhibition hall, where the displays appear to be about the rise of a certain planetary government power in the system next to your home. As you take in the artifacts and informational placards, something your guide said earlier tickles your brain.

"You mentioned that it was past official visiting hours. Why was the worldgate still working? Why are you here after hours?"

Phil goes serious as she answers. “It was my turn to stay. And closing the worldgate would be counter our very mission.” She gestures to the ceiling and the delicate curls of the Speech meandering across the dark stone. “It’s written up there, if you’re able to see it. 

"The founder of the Museum was a historian and a wizard, and at one point grew disheartened with a gap in eir planet’s history. Ey went on to found a philosophy that the loss of truth and history was one way entropy worked, that with the loss of knowledge, peoples regressed or fell under the Lone Power’s sway- especially if said knowledge was uncomfortable or inconvenient to certain people who tried to  _make it go away_. 

"So ey decided to make a museum: a place that was both archive and education center, that could both hold and teach the truths the universe might forget. And ey also wrote it into the Museum’s charter that the Museum should  _always_  be available to someone who needs it, because having the knowledge and making it available only  _some_  of the time is almost as bad as not sharing at all.”

By now, Phil has a soft, awed smile, and has turned her face up to read the Speech on the ceiling. “When you get hired here, you read the Museum’s charter aloud in the Speech. It’s a beautiful, fulfilling thing- closer to a second Oath than anything else I’ve ever read.  _I will learn all that I can, and teach all I learn. I will preserve the knowledge and disparate truths of this world as best I am able, for the_ _right and benefit of future generations, to slow and prevent the increase of ignorance, and its ancestor entropy_ _…_ ”

She looks at you as she begins to walk away. “Go ahead and explore. I’ll be in the lobby if you need me. And best wishes for your errantry- hopefully we’ll have to change over the exhibit.”

That does not actually sound positive to you. “Why?”

A brilliant smile as she ducks out the door. “It’s what we do,” floats back, “when a truth is no longer forgotten.”

.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to Tumblr Jan 31, 2014


End file.
